Local backup hydraulic actuator for aircraft control systems

ABSTRACT

A backup system is provided that has a local electric motor and pump for some or all of hydraulic actuators. A local backup hydraulic actuator has two power sources, hydraulic as primary and electrical as backup. During normal operation, the hydraulic actuator receives pressurized fluid from a hydraulic system and the fluid flow to the chambers is controlled by a servo valve. If the hydraulic system fails, the electronic controller detects the failure by observing the signal indicative of the pressure from the pressure sensor, and the controller powers the local hydraulic pump to provide high pressure hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic actuator via the servo valve.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional application of U.S. nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 11/108,036, filed Apr. 14, 2005, currently pending,which claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/665,545, filed Mar. 25, 2005, each of which areincorporated herein by reference, in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to aircraft flight control system and hydraulicsystem and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for maintainingcontrol of the aircraft if the primary hydraulic system is compromised.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Flight control systems in commercial aircraft have redundancy to permitcontrol of the aircraft in the event of failure of part of the system.For the hydraulic actuators that control the flight control surfaces,backup systems are present on each aircraft so that if one of thehydraulic systems fails, other systems are available to provide power tocontrol sufficient flight control surfaces.

A commercial aircraft typically has a plurality of independent centralhydraulic systems, usually two or three, depending on the type ofaircraft. The hydraulic pressure in each central hydraulic system isgenerated by one or more centrally located hydraulic pumps which aredriven directly or indirectly by a main power source such as an engine.Each central hydraulic system has a plurality of aircraft systems whichdraw hydraulic power from it to actuate components in the airplane, andthe flight control system is one such system. High pressured hydraulicfluid in each central hydraulic system is carried in hydraulic lines tothe hydraulic actuators at each flight control surface. Servo valve ateach hydraulic actuator controls the application of pressurized fluid tothe hydraulic actuators. The servo valves operate based on electricalsignals transmitted on electric wires throughout the aircraft, thusproviding a fly-by-wire control system.

Among the methods to provide redundancy of power is to have the flightcontrol of hydraulic actuators powered by different independenthydraulic systems. In addition, on a flight control surface whosecontinued operation is critical, there may be multiple actuators, eachdrawing power from a different hydraulic system. The locations of thehydraulic actuators that receive pressure from each central hydraulicsystem are selected such that sufficient flight control surfaces areavailable to support continued safe flight and landing following thefailure of any two hydraulic systems.

Because each central hydraulic system consists of large pumps and tubingthat extends through the entire aircraft to each flight control surface,there are significant economical and performance advantages to beingable to reduce the number of required systems, especially with largeaircraft. At the same time, an equivalent or better level of safety mustbe assured for the aircraft. In order to realize this, two types ofactuators, EHA and EBHA, have been proposed in the prior art.

An Electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA) is an electric actuator which usesthe central electrical system to power the motor which is connected to atwo-way pump, both of which are typically mounted on the actuator. Ahydraulic reservoir and lines are provided at each actuator, andtherefore, it requires no connection to a central hydraulic system.During normal operation, the outports of the two-way pump are connecteddirectly to the actuator such that the movement of the pump translatesdirectly to the extension and retraction movements of the piston/rodassembly. The control signals for the motor and pump are carried oncontrol wires that go throughout the aircraft. By replacing all of thehydraulic actuators on a particular hydraulic system with EHAs androuting electrical power cables to each, it becomes possible toeliminate that hydraulic system.

There are two major disadvantages associated with EHAs and the systemcomprising them. One is the reduced reliability of each local hydraulicsystem comprising a motor, motor driver, and motor driver electronics.They are subject to being overworked and are more likely to fail than acentral hydraulic system or hydraulic actuator or such a central system.Since they are required at each actuator, failure of one of thesecomponents will result in failure of the EHA.

The second problem is force fight, which will now be explained in moredetail. In order to reduce the number of required hydraulic systems,some of the conventional hydraulic actuators may be replaced with EHAs.In many cases, it is desirable to replace one of the actuators on aparticular surface, while leaving the other one hydraulic. When multipleactuators on a particular surface are operating simultaneously, it iscalled an active-active system, or the actuators are referred to asworking in an active-active fashion. In an active-active system, evenminor differences in the timing of operation of the valves, pumps, andpressure in each system creates a force fight. When dissimilaractuators, such as EHA and conventional hydraulic actuator, are used ona surface in an active-active fashion, blending them to work in perfectunison is very difficult, and so, a force fight is very likely to occurin this situation. If there is a substantial force fight, the electricmotor, pump, actuator components, or surrounding structure may beoverloaded and subject to premature failure.

In order to overcome the difficulties associate with reduced reliabilityand force fight, one current solution is to operate only one actuator ona surface at a time, keeping the EHA on standby until the hydraulicactuator on the same surface fails. Once the hydraulic actuator fails,the electric motor and pump in the EHA are activated to maintain controlof the surface. This is called an active-standby system since oneactuator is on standby and is not active until the other actuator fails.This circumvents the reliability issue of the EHA because the EHA isused only after failure. It also avoids force fight by activating onlyone actuator on any surface at once. While an active-standby systemoffers some solutions to these difficulties, there are many otheradvantages to an active-active system that make it more attractive.

An electric backup hydraulic actuator (EBHA) is a hybrid actuatoremploying both electric and hydraulic powers, and it is another priorart system that may be used to allow reduction in the central hydraulicsystem. It is a combination of an EHA and conventional hydraulicactuator, and it has connections to both the central hydraulic systemand the electrical system. In an EBHA, the primary source of power isprovided by hydraulic fluids lines of a particular hydraulic system, asis standard. In addition, EBHA also has a local electric motor andtwo-way pump, and in the event of failure of the central hydraulicsystem, the local electric motor and pump are switched on by electricsignals on the distributed control line to power and control theactuator in the same way as an EHA. Although it requires connection tothe hydraulic system, because it remains functional following thecomplete failure of the hydraulic system, by connecting EBHAs toappropriate flight control surfaces, continued safe flight and landingis possible following a complete loss of the central hydraulic systems,which might occur if there are only two hydraulic systems.

EBHA overcomes the reduced reliability problem of EHAs by using thelow-reliability components only as backup and activating them onlyfollowing the failure of the primary power or control components. On theother hand, the force fight problem between dissimilar actuators on aparticular surface used in an active-active fashion still remains. Ifone EBHA and one hydraulic actuator is coupled to a surface, forexample, the EBHA functions as a hydraulic actuator during normaloperation, because the electric motor is turned off, and so, there is noincrease in the level of force fight as compared to having two hydraulicactuators. Following the failure of the primary hydraulic source,however, the EBHA behaves as an EHA, and so, it is subject to the sameaforementioned force fight issue associated with having an EHA and ahydraulic actuator on the same surface and having them work in anactive-active fashion. In addition, coupling only EBHAs to a surface andhaving them work in an active-active fashion would also result in thesame situation when one of the primary hydraulic power sources fails.

Some systems of the prior art are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,181,380,6,625,982, 4,472,780 and 5,493,497.

Thus, each of the systems comprising EHAs or EBHAs, while offering somepotential advantages over the conventional flight control systemscomprising all hydraulic actuators, have significant difficulties beingapplied particularly to active-active systems, which in itself hasadvantages over active-standby systems. An improved system and actuatorwould provide significant advantages for aircraft operation, especiallyif it resulted in reduced overall cost and weight at the same time asproviding increased reliability and increased safety.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to principles of the present invention, a backup system isprovided that has a local electric motor and pump for some or all of thehydraulic actuators. A local backup hydraulic actuator (LBHA) has twopower sources, central hydraulic as primary and electrical as backup.During normal operation, the hydraulic actuator receives pressurizedfluid from one of the central hydraulic systems and the fluid flow tothe chambers is controlled by a servo valve. Failure of the hydraulicsystem is detected by the local electronic controller that monitors theoutput signal of a pressure sensor. When this observed pressure fallsbelow a certain threshold, the local electronic controller determinesthat this central hydraulic system has failed and turns on theelectrical motor, which powers the local hydraulic pump to provide highpressure hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic actuator via the servo valve.The local electronic controller also uses the pressure reading forclosed-loop feedback control, and the pressure is maintained at thenormal level. Other types of monitoring and control schemes may also beused instead. In this manner, the LBHA remains functional withelectrical power following a partial or complete failure of the centralhydraulic system.

By coupling the LBHAs to appropriate flight control surfaces, theairplane remains controllable with loss of all central hydraulicsystems; therefore, the number of central hydraulic systems can bereduced compared to using only conventional hydraulic actuators.

As explained in the background of the invention, some prior artapproaches provide a reduction in the number of hydraulic systems,namely EHA and EBHA, for example. A major advantage that the LBHA offersover these prior art actuators is that it enables this reduction in thecentral hydraulic system for airplanes with flight control surfaceswhich are controlled in an active-active fashion. This is accomplishedby overcoming both of the two major difficulties that have been citedherein for the electric and hybrid actuators of the prior art, namelythat of reduced reliability and force fight.

The LBHA overcomes the reduced reliability problem by using thelow-reliability components only as backup following the failure of acentral hydraulic system or during specific phases of flight. Theelectrical part of the LBHA can be switched off during much of flight sothe life of the motor and pump is greatly extended. Therefore, even whenthe LBHA is used continuously during normal operation, such as on anactive-active surface, the operation is more reliable and the life ofthe motor and pump are extended.

The force fight problem associated with coupling dissimilar actuators ona surface and using them in an active-active fashion is resolvedaccording to this invention by continuously controlling the actuator inthe same manner as a conventional hydraulic actuator and providing asbackup only an alternate power source. The local motor and pump areupstream of the servo valve and in parallel with the central hydrauliclines. A common servo valve for the hydraulic actuator is used under aunified electrical control system for both the central hydraulic systemand the backup system. This ensures that there is no substantial forcefight when LBHA is used in an active-active fashion with a hydraulicactuator or another LBHA on the same surface. This is because duringnormal operation and operation following the failure of the centralhydraulic system, the LBHA is controlled in the same manner through theservo valve, with the only difference being the source of hydraulicpower, central or local.

In addition to enabling the reduction of hydraulic systems and resolvingthe problems associated with applying electric or hybrid actuators ofprior art in an active-active fashion, the LBHA also offers otheradvantages. With the LBHA, the local pump can be a one-way pump ratherthan a two-way pump, which, together with the motor and controller, islower in weight and cost, while having higher reliability. The localpump's role is to provide increased local pressure, rather than alsoprovide servo control of the system, thus simplifying the motor, themotor driver, and control device, and increasing the reliability ofoperation.

The inventive system also provides the advantage that during criticalflight phases, such as takeoff and landing, both the main system and thebackup system can be in operation. In the event of failure of the mainsystem, the backup system is already under power and is assisting in theoperation, so that there is no time lost for control while the backupsystem comes on. Check valves are provided between the central hydraulicsystem and the local backup system, permitting both to operate at thesame time when appropriate.

A further advantage is that the backup system has a separate powersource, namely electric power, so that increased availability of poweris provided to the actuator. Because of this, providing one LBHA inconjunction with at least one hydraulic actuator for a particularsurface is able to ensure that the likelihood of a complete loss of thepower to position the surface correctly is negligible. This may, forexample, enable reduction in the number of actuators coupled to asurface compared to only using conventional hydraulic actuators, whileachieving an equivalent or better level of safety. This may also enablesmaller, lighter, and simpler individual actuators than otherwise wouldhave been possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aircraft having the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a prior art hydraulic actuator system withelectrical back up

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of local backup hydraulic actuator accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed schematic of a local backup hydraulic actuator,powered by a local electric motor and local pump, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a detailed schematic of a local backup hydraulic actuator,powered by a local electric motor and local pump, according to a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows an aircraft having prior art hydraulic systems.

FIG. 7 shows an aircraft having local backup hydraulic actuatorsaccording to the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic of an alternative embodiment of two hydraulicactuators on the same flight control surface, one having a local backuppump according to the invention and the other being powered solely froma central hydraulic system.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of an alternative embodiment of two hydraulicactuators being coupled to the same local pump unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows an aircraft 22 having flight control surfaces controlled bya local backup hydraulic actuator according to the present invention.The aircraft 22 has a number of flight control surfaces. These includeailerons, spoilers, and, in some cases flaperons on each wing.Typically, these flight control surfaces provide roll, drag, lift, andload control. In addition, the aircraft 22 includes a rudder at a tailsection and elevators, also at the empennage, to provide pitch anddirectional control of the aircraft.

Each of the flight control surfaces has connected thereto one or morehydraulic actuators for causing movement of the flight control surfaceaccording to principles of the present invention.

In the example shown, hydraulic actuators 1 and 3 control the aileron onthe left wing, while hydraulic actuators 2 and 4 control the aileron onthe right wing. Similarly, hydraulic actuators 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13control the spoilers on the left wing. Similarly, hydraulic actuators 6,8, 10, 12, and 14 control spoilers on the right wing. Of course,additional hydraulic actuators may be added to control other surfaces,such as flaperon, if present.

The rudder includes hydraulic actuators 20 and 21 while the elevatorincludes hydraulic actuators 15 and 17 on the left side and hydraulicactuators 16 and 18 on the right side. The hydraulic control system andhydraulic actuators as shown in FIG. 1 contain, on various ones of theactuators, a local backup system as shown in FIG. 7 and as willdescribed in more detail later herein.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified schematic of an Electric Backup HydraulicActuator (EBHA) 101, a prior art hybrid actuator with an electricalbackup system. During normal operation, this system operates as aconventional and widely used hydraulic actuator for fly-by-wire flightcontrols applications with the switching valve 31 positioned such thatlines 37 and 38 are coupled to lines 29 and 30 respectively. An actuator27 generally includes a cylinder 25 and a piston/rod assembly 23. Thepiston 23 separates the cylinder 25 into two chambers, one on eitherside of the piston 23. Each cylinder 25 has ports connected to ahydraulic pressure system. The piston 23 moves or exerts force in onedirection when it is pushed that way by the pressure difference betweenthe two chambers on either side of the piston 23. A servo valve 34 iscontrolled electrically on lines 39 to connect the high-pressurehydraulic fluid, supply 33, to one of the chambers and the low-pressurehydraulic fluid, return 32, to the other chamber. For example, if theservo valve 34 is positioned for the supply of fluid to be connected tothe left chamber and the return to the right, then it would result inthe piston/rod 23 moving or exerting force to the right. In this way,the position of and the force exerted by the rod end are controlled. Therod end is attached to a flight control surface, such as the elevatorsof FIG. 1, and the surface is positioned with the movement of theactuator.

When an anomaly affecting normal operation of the actuator is detected,the EBHA engages the backup mode by positioning the switching valve 31such that lines 35 and 36 are coupled with lines 29 and 30 respectively,as shown in FIG. 2. This disconnects the actuator 27 from the servovalve 34 and couples it to the pump 26. Following this, a signal is senton line 40 to the motor 24 to actuate the motor using electrical poweron line 80. The electric motor 24 rotation causes operation of pump 26.The electrical control signals 40 providing instructions to the motor tocause it to turn in the correct direction to cause pump 26 to providehigh pressure on the desired one of the lines 35 and 36. The pump 26 isa two-way pump. When the pump 26 is turned in one direction, thepiston/rod 23 of the actuator 27 moves or exerts force in thecorresponding direction, and when the pump 26 is turned in the otherdirection, the piston/rod 23 moves or exerts force in the oppositedirection. The pump system therefore connects to the actuator inparallel path to that of the servo valve 34. The moving switching valve31 permits only one, but not both of the systems to provide highpressure hydraulic fluid to lines 29 and 30.

The servo valve 34 is therefore not used on the backup side since thepump 26, in conjunction with the motor 24, causes the appropriate lineto receive pressurized fluid as directed by the electrical controls asseen on line 40. Reservoir 28 is also provided to ensure that the pump26 has sufficient fluid and they make up for any leakage loss in thelocal backup hydraulic system.

One difficulty of the prior art electrical backup system 101 is that itis required to be operated in a sequential-power mode. Namely, whenhydraulic line 33 is pressurized and providing power to the actuator 27via the servo valve 34, the motor 24 and pump 26 must be turned off.Upon a failure being sensed, there is some time lag between when thefailure occurs and when the motor 24 and pump 26 have been activated toprovide sufficient pressure to lines 35 or 36 to move the piston/rodassembly 23 in the desired direction. The electrical system, of motor 24and pump 26, can only be turned on and connected to the hydraulicactuator 27 after, namely sequentially to, main hydraulic lines 33 and32 being disconnected. Since the motor 24 cannot operate while thehydraulic portion of the system is operating, some time lag will bepresent. During critical flight times, such as takeoff and landing, evenfractions of a second are important in maintaining control of the flightcontrol surface to which hydraulic actuator 27 is attached.

A further difficulty of the prior art is that, as explained in detail inbackground of invention, when coupled to a surface in an active-activefashion with another actuator, there is a potential for a substantialincrease in force fight compared to having only hydraulic actuators onthe surface.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified schematic of a configuration of a local backuphydraulic actuator (LBHA) 104 according to the present invention. Thelocal backup hydraulic actuator 104 is controlled by a local electroniccontroller 55 and includes a servo valve 44 having an input line 49 anda return line 51 and an electric motor 42 to drive a one-way pump 41.The one-way pump 41 has an output line 67 that is coupled to the supplyinput line 49 via a check valve 62 and a return line 51 that is coupledto the system return line 46. In the preferred embodiment, it alsoincludes a pressure sensor 48, which senses the pressure at the inputhydraulic line 49. The servo valve 44 connects to lines 29 and 30 of thehydraulic actuator 27 to couple the actuator to a source of hydraulicpressure to cause operation of the hydraulic actuator 27 in a well knownmanner.

A mode select valve 50 is configured to allow the piston/rod assembly 23to be controlled by pressure from the servo valve 44 during normaloperation. When an anomaly affecting the operation of the servo valve isdetected, the mode select valve 50 is positioned such that the piston 23is disconnected from all hydraulic pressure. In this disengaged mode,one option is that the actuator 27 can be placed in dampened movementmode, free movement mode or other mode providing an appropriate level ofresistance as is known in the art. Alternatively, according to oneembodiment of the invention, the mode select valve 50 includes only twomodes of operation, a dampened movement mode and an active mode. Thiscould be used, for example, in the elevator or rudder which have twoLBHU's 104 on the same surface, as explained with respect to FIG. 7.Under normal operation, a central hydraulic power system providespressurized fluid on supply line 45 and low pressure fluid on returnline 46. The central hydraulic supply line 45 is coupled to input line49 of the servo valve 44 via the appropriate supply lines, having acheck valve 57 therebetween. The check valve 57 permits full pressurefrom line 45 to be applied to the servo valve, but in the event thepressure at input line 49 of the servo valve 44 exceeds that on theupstream side of the line 45, check valve 57 prevents fluid andincreased pressure from passing back to the central hydraulic system 45.

The pressure sensor 48 senses the pressure on the input line 49 andsends a signal on line 66 indicative of the pressure to the localelectronic controller 55. In the event the pressure in the input line 49falls below a selected threshold, the motor 42 is turned on by a signalon line 53 from the local electronic controller 55. The threshold belowwhich loss of pressure is detected is set in order to support acceptableactuator performance at the time of the failure, while avoidingexcessive erroneous detection. Once the failure is detected, the localelectronic controller 55 sends signals on line 53 to turn on the motor42 by drawing power on electric power line 80 and to command the motor42 to maintain full hydraulic pressure. The output of pump 41 rapidlycomes up to pressure, providing full hydraulic pressure on line 67 equalto the desired value. The hydraulic pressure on line 67 is usually setto be equal to the desired value from line 45, so in the event of backuppump 41 is in operation, no change is made at the servo valve 44 andother parts of the system. The pressure sensor 48 output is also used asfeedback for control of the pressure on line 49 during backup operation.The servo valve 44 continues to operate in normal fashion underelectrical controls 47. The servo valve 44 therefore continues to bepositioned to the correct location for moving the rod 23 of hydraulicactuator 27.

The major difficulties of the prior art in electrical and hybridactuators hitherto described in an active-active fashion is force fightand reliability, and the inventive LBHA 104 has the advantage of beingable to resolve both of these difficulties. Even though the LBHA isnormally active, the reliability problem is resolved by activating thelocal power source, consisting of components including the motor 42 andpump 41, only as backup following the failure of the central hydraulicsystem or during specific phases of flight as will be explained laterherein. Therefore, there is much less wear on these components. Theforce fight problem is resolved also because the actuators andcontrollers on a surface are identical in each case. The only differenceis that after the first hydraulic failure, the source of hydraulic powerfor the actuator on the failed system switches from the centralhydraulics to the local pump 41, which is controlled to maintain thenormal supply pressure. Therefore, whether an LBHA is coupled to asurface in parallel with a conventional hydraulic actuator, or two LBHAsare coupled to the same surface, the actuation and controller methodsremain essentially identical for all actuators on the surfaceirrespective of the failure state of one or more of the centralhydraulic systems. Therefore, this similarity in actuation andcontroller methods makes LBHA 104 an ideal choice for eitheractive-active systems or active-standby system. This is another reasonthat makes extensive LBHA application much more attractive with respectto other types of electrically powered actuators, especially withactive-active systems.

The mode of operation thus far explained in which the local motor 42 andpump 41 are activated only when loss of pressure in central supply line45 or other failure occurs, so that use of the motor 42 and pump 41 isreduced and the life can be extended for long periods of time, isreferred to as the sequential-power mode, which is one embodiment of thepresent invention. One advantage of the present invention is that thelocal motor 42 and pump 41 may also be operated simultaneously toprovide backup pressure in parallel with the central hydraulic pressure.This second mode of operation is referred to as the parallel-power mode.Under normal operations, the LBHA is in the sequential-power mode andthe sole pressure source for hydraulic power is on main supply line 45.The operator, or the programmer of the airplane control system, mayelect as a safety measure to also have the local pump 41 operationalduring expected critical times of aircraft operation during which even atemporary reduction in pressure available to actuators may havesignificant safety impact. This may be, for example, during takeoff andlanding or, during other particular flight maneuvers. In theparallel-power mode, the local pump 41 is activated by a command from acentral controller (not shown) sent to one or more local electroniccontrollers 55 even though there is sufficient pressure in the line 45.Input line 49 thus becomes pressurized via line 67 by the local pump 41as well as being pressurized by the main supply 45. Check valves 62 and57 ensure that if either one of the systems is slightly differentpressure from the other, it does not affect the other system and theline 49 is held at the pressure which is the higher of the two withoutthe pressure being bled off to the other system. Once the criticalflight maneuver is completed, the pilot, or the central controller mayreturn the local pump 41 to normal control so that it becomesoperational only upon a failure, such as the pressure sensor 48 sendinga signal that indicates a drop in pressure in the main supply line 45.

The present invention thus has the advantage that the backup pump 41 maybe operated in a parallel-power mode, under selective control of thesystem or the pilot. While in the parallel-power mode, the failure ofeither one of the systems alone will not affect the actuator performancebecause both are fully operational and there is no time lag between afailure of one of the systems and the other system maintaining fullpressure. Accordingly, full control of the hydraulic actuator ismaintained at all times. The present invention is therefore operationalin either the parallel-power mode or in the sequential-power mode. Ifoperated in the parallel-power mode immediate responses are alwaysprovided since both systems are fully operational to provide hydraulicpressure to the actuator 27. The amount of time that the system 104 isin the parallel-power mode can be limited to reduce the wear on themotor 42 and pump 41 and extend their operating life.

A further advantage is that pump 41 is a one-way pump. The pump 41rapidly comes up to pressure to supply an output pressure on line 67.The motor 42 and motor controls need not be structured for changingdirection or turning both directions. A further advantage is thatcomplex electronic controls to control the motor 42 and pump 41 are notrequired since pressure is only being supplied in one direction. Themotor 42 and pump 41 do not need to receive electrical control signalsto change direction of rotation in order to supply pressure to one sideof the hydraulic actuator or to the other. A simple, robust pump 41 canbe provided together with the motor 42 which operates in one directionvery rapidly to provide the desired pressure. The pump 41, being only aone-way pump is more robust and simpler in operation than the two-waypumps of the prior art. Thus, the life is extended of the overall systemeven beyond that which would be permitted of the prior art.

Another advantage of the invention over the state of the art is thatthere is no switching valve 31 to go from the primary mode to the backupmode. The motor 42 and pump 41 are simply activated when the conditionsrequiring their operation are met. An EBHA system of the prior artrequires a switching valve 31, which connects the actuator chambers toeither the servo valve 34 or the pump 26.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed embodiment of a practical application of theinventive local backup hydraulic actuator (LBHA) 104. The LBHA 104 ofFIG. 4 operates in a similar manner to that of FIG. 3, however, moredetails are shown so that the operation in an aircraft environment maybe more completely understood. The local backup hydraulic actuator 104includes a hydraulic actuator 72, and a local pump unit 71, which willnow be explained.

As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the actuator 27 and servo valve 44,within the hydraulic actuator system 72, are sensed by the local LVDTsystems 43, and signals indicative of their positions are sent back tothe local electronic controller 55 through electrical lines 47 in amanner well known in the art. Subsequently, electronic signals on lines47 from the local electronic controller 55 provide signals to controlthe various valves in the system. For example, the local electroniccontroller 55 regulates the position of the solenoid valve 68, which inturn affects the pilot pressure to the mode select valve 50, and thus,its position, as is known in the art.

The servo valve 44 is controlled in a manner well known in the art, sothe details are not shown, rather it is shown schematically with itsposition being indicated as controlled by the local electroniccontroller 55 even though some other control mechanizing may be used. Inaddition, relief valves 59, with or without manual releases are providedat various parts throughout the system. The return line 51 from theservo valve is coupled to a compensator 58 of a standard type having asight glass and other features. Other components which are standard forhydraulic actuators such as check valves 79 and other standardcomponents, not shown, may also be present. An additional isolationvalve, not shown, may also be present in the return line in addition toa relief valve 81. Filters 77 and 85 may also be provided in the system.A check valve 107 may also be provided for uniformity of components sothat the same hydraulic actuator may be used even when an LBHA is notpresent, as discussed later herein.

The local pump unit (LPU) 71 has a motor driver 63, a motor 42, a pump41, a filter 85, a relief valve 59, and check valves 62 and 57. There isalso a pressure sensor 48 coupled to a line 61 that is downstream fromthe supply line 45. This pressure sensor 48 is not present in allembodiments, as will be explained later herein. The relief valve 59 inthe LPU 71 is configured to protect the actuator 72 from over pressure,which may occur due to a failure resulting in excessive electrical powerbeing applied to the motor 42.

During normal operation, the motor 42 and pump 41 are turned off, andthe high pressure fluid is provided to the servo valve 44 exclusivelyfrom the supply line 45. The pump 41 remains isolated from thehigh-pressure hydraulic fluid supply line 45 by the LPU 71 check valve62. If the central hydraulic system has a pressure loss failure, such asfrom central pump failure or fluid loss from the system, the supplypressure on line 45 drops, reducing the pressure on line 61, and this isdetected by the local electronic controller 55 observing the signal frompressure sensor 48. When failure is detected, the local electroniccontroller 55 turns on the electric motor 42 through the motor driver 63and controls the electrical power to the motor such that the pressurereading from the sensor 48 is maintained at the normal level.

One of the ways in which the central hydraulic system could fail isthrough loss of hydraulic fluid. In one case, the fluid could exit thesystem from the return line 46 as well as the supply line 45. Fluid isprevented from flowing out of the supply line 45 by the check valve 57.To keep the actuator 72 operational with the LPU 71, it is necessary toprevent the loss of fluid from the LBHA through the return line 46 aswell. This is accomplished by the relief valve 81, which acts as anisolation valve; an additional isolation valve can also be provided ifdesired, for example, one similar in operation to valve 50. In addition,the compensator 58 maintains a reserve of fluid to compensate forleakage until the aircraft lands and repairs can be made, and thusensures that fluid is maintained in the LBHA 104 even when there is nofluid in the central hydraulic system.

The loss of pressure in central system line 45 can also be detected bymonitoring the output of different sensors at a central location. Insome cases, the central controller (not shown) may detect the failure inthis way and issue a local pump activation command to the localelectronic controllers 55 of the LBHAs which receive primary hydraulicpower from the failed central hydraulic system.

Local failure detection can alternatively be accomplished by monitoringthe electronic feedback on electrical lines 47. If the hydraulicactuator 27 or the servo valve 44 are not moving to the position theyhave been commanded to move to, this failure is detected by monitoringthe position signals from the LVDTs 43 coupled to them. Upon detectionof failure in this way, the local electronic controller 55 would triggera failure signal and activate the local pump 41 by turning on the motor42. The position of the actuator 27 and/or servo valve 44 can continueto be monitored to determine if they have now moved to the commandedposition, if so, the backup system 71 can continue to operate. If not,the mode select valve 50 may be moved such that the actuator 27 isdisconnected from the servo valve 44 in this situation. Thus, a failurethat activates the local pump 41 can be detected many ways, withoutpressure sensor 48 and even beyond those discussed herein.

The motor control scheme of motor 42 also has a number of options whichare possible. According to preferred baseline control scheme, the motorwould be controlled to maintain the pressure at the local hydraulic line49 at the same pressure as normal as if receiving high pressure from thesupply line 45. This can be accomplished with a closed-loop control withabsolute pressure feedback from sensor 48 to local electronic controller55. While this is the preferred baseline scheme, other types of controlsystems are also possible. As an alternative, a different closed-loopcontrol with position feedback may be used. In such a situation, powerapplied to the electric motor 42 is regulated as a function of thedifference between the position command and the actual position. Poweris provided only as necessary in order to position the piston in thedesired position. As a further alternative, a control scheme may beclosed-loop with both position and pressure sensor feedback. Thedifference between the position command and the actual position is usedin combination with pressure control. Furthermore, instead of electricalcontrol such as those described thus far, a purely or partiallymechanical means of regulating or limiting the pressure may also be usedin a manner well known in the art. Thus, the motor can be controlled inmany ways, even beyond those discussed herein. Furthermore, ifmonitoring and control schemes, neither of which requires the localpressure information, are selected, then the pressure sensor 48 may beeliminated from the LPU 71.

Finally, the LPU 71 may or may not be physically attached to theactuator 72. It may be beneficial in some cases to place it away fromthe actuator 72 and connect them by hydraulic tubes. There are alsovarious options with respect to the location of the local electroniccontroller 55 as well as packaging of the various functions implementedby this controller 55. The local electronic controller 55 may, forexample, be placed on or in close proximity to either the actuator 72 orthe LPU 71 or remotely in some central location. The various functionsimplemented by this local electronic controller 55, such as control andmonitor functions of actuator 72 and control and monitor functions ofthe LPU 71, may be packaged together or separately and placed indifferent locations depending on other design constraints.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention. Here, the compensator58 and relief valve 81 are not present in the actuator 72, but arewithin the LPU 71. The compensator 58 is sometimes not necessary in ahydraulic actuator. By configuring the LPU 71 in this manner and usingthe same actuator 72 at different locations throughout the aircraft thenumber of compensators 58 and relief valves 81 in a system can bereduced. The operation of the embodiment of FIG. 5 can be understoodfrom that of FIG. 4, so the details are not repeated.

FIG. 6 shows an aircraft 22 having conventional redundant hydraulicsystems as is known in the prior art and a typical configuration isdescribed with respect to FIG. 6. In this prior art system, the aircraft22 has three independent central hydraulic systems, which in this caseis referred to as Left, Right, and Center. They could also be labeledsystems 1, 2 and 3, etc. All three central systems are functioningduring normal operation. Each system is pressurized by hydraulic pumpslocated centrally in the aircraft 22. The Left system may have one pump93 driven by the left engine and another pump 93 by an electrical motor,the Right system may have one pump 91 driven by the right engine and theother pump 91 by an electrical motor, and the Center system may haveboth pumps 95 driven by electrical motors. The pressurized fluid fromLeft pumps 93 is carried through line 92 and distributed to actuatorsdesignated with the letter L. The pressurized fluid from Right pumps 91is carried through line 89 and distributed to actuators designated withthe letter R. The pressurized fluid from Center pumps 95 is carriedthrough line 97 and distributed to actuators designated with the letterC. As shown in FIG. 6, the various actuators have the same referencenumbers as previously referred to with respect to FIG. 1. Thedistribution of the actuators powered by each central hydraulic systemis determined in order to ensure sufficient control of the airplane tosupport continued safe flight and landing following the failure of anytwo central hydraulic systems. The likelihood of failure of all threecentral hydraulic systems, and thus, a complete loss of actuation powerto flight control actuators is considered negligible.

FIG. 7 shows a typical backup system according to principles of thepresent invention. In this system, the aircraft 22 has two independentcentral hydraulic systems, which in this case are referred to as Leftand Right systems, but could also be called first and second, etc. Eachsystem is pressurized by hydraulic pumps located centrally in theaircraft 22 in a similar manner to aircraft 22 in FIG. 6. All of theactuators receive hydraulic power from either the Left or Right system.The actuators receiving hydraulic power from the Left system aredesignated with the letter L, and the actuators receiving hydraulicpower from the Right system are designated with the letter R. In thisaircraft system, some, or all of the hydraulic actuators have an LPU 71connected thereto. The example in FIG. 7 shows an aircraft 22 havingboth actuators on the rudder, one actuator on each of the elevators andailerons, and one actuator on a spoiler on each wing having an LPU 71connected thereon. Of course, an LPU 71 can be provided on more or fewerhydraulic actuators 72, depending on the design choice.

The LPU 71 corresponds to the local pump unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 anddescribed previously. The LPU 71 is provided with an electrical powersupply via an electrical power distribution network, not shown. Becauseof this, an LBHA 104 is functional following the failure of thehydraulic system that provides the primary source of hydraulic power.Therefore, by providing an LPU 71 to appropriate actuators, it can beensured that sufficient surfaces are controllable following the loss ofboth central hydraulic systems, without a third system being necessary.

With the hydraulic actuator system of the prior art, there needs to bethree actuators 19, 20, 21 on the rudder to ensure that it can becontrolled following the loss of two of the hydraulic systems, which isconceivable. By employing at least one LBHA 104 for the rudder, itbecomes possible to reduce the number of actuators on the rudder fromthree as shown in FIG. 6 to two as shown in FIG. 7. This is becausehaving one LBHA 104 and a standard hydraulic actuator in parallel on asurface is sufficient to ensure that the surface is controllablefollowing any conceivable failures in the actuators and power sources.FIG. 7 shows both rudder actuators to be LBHAs 104. This configurationis beneficial because required takeoff distance is often influenced byhow fast the rudder can be deflect following the failure of one enginecausing thrust asymmetry and the hydraulic system associated with theengine. If one of the rudder actuators is purely hydraulic and if theengine that the hydraulic system is associated with fails, it needs tobe assumed that the actuator no longer is functional. Therefore, therudder needs to be deflected quickly enough to counteract thrustasymmetry with just one active actuator, while the non-functionalactuator typically needs to be configured to provide minimum resistance.If both are LBHAs 104, as shown in FIG. 7, then they can both be assumedto be available to deflect the surface in this event, and thus,potentially leading to smaller, lighter, and simpler individualactuators. Currently, it is thought that having two LBHAs 104 on therudder would be preferable, but embodiments having only one are possibleand the choice would typically depend on cost, weight, and reliability.

The two modes of operation that have been discussed herein, namelyparallel and sequential power modes, can also be use in conjunction.Following the failure of a particular hydraulic system, the localelectronic controller 55 of LBHA 104 whose primary power source hasfailed would detect the failure and turn on the backup motor 42 andcontrol it to maintain normal pressure as already described. At the sametime, the central controller for the entire aircraft (not shown) whichgathers the status of each actuator 104 from each local electroniccontroller 55, along with other airplane information, determines thatone system of the aircraft hydraulic systems has failed, and upondetection, it commands all of the LBHAs 104 to engage their backupsystems 71, which result in some of the LBHAs being in theparallel-power mode. In this manner, it is possible to ensure that noneof the LBHAs 104 experiences any upset following the possible failure ofsecond central hydraulic system. For example, following the failure ofthe Right system, the LPU 71 on actuators 2, 11, 12, 17, and 21 areturned on immediately by each local controller 55. Shortly followingthis, the central controller commands the local electronic controllers55 on actuators 1, 4, 18, and 20 to turn on the local motor 42 and pump41 so that all of the LBHAs 104 can be fully functional if there is asubsequent failure of the Left system. Therefore, this allows the use ofthe backup components to be minimized while at the same time ensuresthat all of the LBHAs are operational with full pressure in the event ofthis sequential failure case.

FIG. 8 is an embodiment in which two actuators are side by side on thesame flight control surface, only one of which has an LPU 71. This maybe on the elevator, the spoilers or the aileron 19, as shown in FIG. 7.The actuator 72 may be a conventional hydraulic actuator of a type wellknown in the art. In the example shown in FIG. 7, a standard hydraulicactuator 4 is on the same flight control surface 19 as an LBHA 104.Though of course, other control surfaces may have side-by-side hydraulicactuators connected as shown in FIG. 8. In the example shown, a standardhydraulic actuator 4 is powered by a central hydraulic system. It isconstructed as a standard hydraulic actuator having all the componentsas known in the prior art and a local electronic controller 55 whichfunctions according to known methods in the art. Coupled to the sameflight control surface, and spaced closely thereto is an inventive LBHA104. The LBHA 104 is coupled to a different central hydraulic controlsystem and the electrical system. Therefore, two central hydraulicsystems and electrical backup power, and thus, three independent sourcesof power are available for actuating the surface. The surface,therefore, remains functional following the failure of any two. Thisprovides an additional level of safety not provided in the prior artwith two hydraulic actuators or one hydraulic actuator and a purelyelectric actuator, such as an EHA. The probability of failure of theservo valve or components used for its control is sufficiently low suchthat the likelihood of their failure in two actuators coupled to thesame surface or failure in one combined with the failure of the centralhydraulic system associated with the other can be shown to benegligible. Therefore, it is possible to have a design that providesbackup for the system using the same servo control function within eachactuator. Providing a backup hydraulic pressure in the event of loss ofcentral hydraulic pressure is the backup system that is preferred.

A further advantage is that the hydraulic actuator 4 is identical to thecomponent 72, which is the hydraulic actuator portion of the inventiveLBHA 104. When the LPU 71 is connected to the actuator 72, the shutoffvalve 53 is opened, and when it is not connect, this valve 53 is closed.This feature would allow the identical actuator 72 of LBHA 104 to beused as a conventional hydraulic actuator. This is useful for surfaceswith multiple actuators because there is often no need to use LBHA 104for all the actuators on the same control surface. Being able to use thesame actuator 72 for both LBHA and conventional hydraulic actuator isoften economically desirable. By having the hydraulic actuator portionidentical, the LPU 71 can be easily connected to either one of thesystems and economies of scale can be achieved by making each localhydraulic actuator 72 exactly the same. Furthermore, the embodimentshown in FIG. 5 would allow the actuator portion 72 to be usedindependently without the need for the shutoff valve 53. Of course, forcertain applications with different design objectives, it may bedesirable to eliminate the components superfluous to the operation ofthe system at the cost of not being able to use the actuator portion 72independently as a conventional hydraulic actuator.

Another advantage of the invention over the state of the art is that anLPU 71 locally coupled to an actuator 72 may also be connected inparallel to a second actuator, some distance from the LPU 71. FIG. 9 isan example of a single LPU 71 providing a backup hydraulic pressure totwo different hydraulic actuators 72. According to the embodiment FIG.9, two hydraulic actuators 72 are coupled to the same central hydraulicsystem. This may be, for example hydraulic actuators 21 and 17 of FIG.7. Both of these hydraulic actuators are coupled to the Right centralhydraulic system and therefore share a common pressure line 45 andcommon return line 46. This is schematically shown in FIG. 9 in whichboth of the hydraulic actuators receive hydraulic pressure from a commonsupply line 45. Of course, the actual tubing and hydraulic connectionsmay be slightly different, FIG. 9 being a schematic representation.

In this embodiment, since both of the hydraulic actuators 72 are coupledto the same central system, the LPU 71 may have additional tubingconnected in order to provide backup hydraulic pressure to both of theactuators 72. In the event of loss of this central pressure systemproviding pressure on line 45, the local electronic controller 55activates the pump 41 based on the signal from the pressure sensor 48,the command from the central controller, or some other source that hasbeen discussed herein. A control signal is sent to motor driver 63,which activates motor 42 to turn on pump 41 and provide high pressurehydraulic fluid on output line 67. The output line of 67 is coupled toboth hydraulic actuators 72 so that sufficient hydraulic pressure isprovided to both actuators. The embodiment of FIG. 9 may be advantageousto use in various locations, such as in the wings, for sharing between aspoiler and aileron or in the tail section for sharing between a rudderand an elevator. The motor 42 and pump 41 may be made slightly larger inorder to provide hydraulic pressure to multiple hydraulic actuators 72,but, some weight and cost savings may be realized by having only one LPU71 for multiple actuators.

All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications,U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applicationsand non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/orlisted in the Application Data Sheet, are incorporated herein byreference, in their entirety.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited except as by the appended claims.

1. A hydraulic control system, comprising: a hydraulic actuator having acylinder and piston assembly; a first and second fluid line coupled tothe hydraulic actuator; a servo valve coupled to the first and secondfluid lines; a high pressure fluid line coupled to the servo valve; alow pressure fluid line coupled to the servo valve; a central pressuresource coupled to the high pressure fluid line to place high pressure onthe fluid line, the central pressure source being positioned at alocation that is distant from the servo valve, the servo valve beingpositioned between the central pressure source and the hydraulicactuator and being controllable to selectively connect the first andsecond fluid lines to the high pressure fluid line and the low pressurefluid line to control movement of the hydraulic actuator; a pressuresensor adjacent the servo valve and coupled to the high pressure fluidline to sense the pressure in the high pressure fluid line adjacent theservo valve, upstream of the servo valve, the pressure sensor outputtinga signal indicative of the pressure in the high pressure line; a localpump adjacent to the servo valve, the local pump being coupled to thehigh pressure line upstream of the servo valve to increase the localpressure in the high pressure line upon being actuated; and an electricmotor coupled to the local pump to actuate the local pump when thesignal output by the pressure sensor indicates a pressure below aselected value.
 2. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 furthercomprising a check valve in the high pressure line adjacent the servovalue, blocking high pressure fluid from the local pump from enteringthe central hydraulic system.
 3. The hydraulic control system of claim 1further comprising a check valve adjacent the local pump, blocking highpressure fluid from the high pressure line from entering the local pump.4. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 wherein said local pressurepump comprises a one-way pump.
 5. The hydraulic control system of claim4 wherein said servo valve is configured such that movement towards afirst position engages said cylinder and piston assembly to extend whenprovided a high pressure hydraulic fluid; and movement toward a secondposition engages said cylinder and piston assembly to retract whenprovided a high pressure hydraulic fluid.
 6. The hydraulic controlsystem of claim 1 further comprising a relief valve coupled to an inputport of said local pressure pump and output port of said local pressurepump.
 7. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 further comprising anisolation valve positioned between the low pressure hydraulic line andthe local pump.
 8. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 furthercomprising: first and second central hydraulic systems that extendthroughout the aircraft, the first and second central systems havingindependent hydraulic fluid paths from each other.
 9. A hydrauliccontrol system for an aircraft, comprising: a plurality of actuatorassemblies within said aircraft, each actuator assembly including ahydraulic actuator and a cylinder/piston assembly; a local pressure pumpconfigured to provide hydraulic fluid under high pressure to a first oneof said actuator assemblies upon receiving an activation signal; a motorfor driving said pump, each of said actuator assemblies being locatedgenerally adjacent an aircraft control surface to be controlled by saidcylinder/piston assembly; a central pressure pump system providinghydraulic fluid under high pressure to said first actuator assembly; apressure sensor coupled to the central pressure pump system fordetecting a reduction in operational hydraulic pressure provided saidcentral pressure pump system and generating a low pressure indicationsignal that causes said activation signal to be sent to the localpressure pump when the pressure in the central pump system is lower thana threshold amount; and a servo valve for selecting a direction ofoperation of said cylinder/piston assembly, said electric servo valvebeing connectable to received fluid under pressure from said localpressure pump and from the central pressure pump system.
 10. Thehydraulic control system of claim 9 wherein the pressure sensor fordetecting a reduction in operational hydraulic pressure is locatedadjacent to said first hydraulic actuator assembly.
 11. The hydrauliccontrol system of claim 9 wherein servo valve is connectable to receivefluid pressure from both the local pressure pump means and the centralpressure means at the same time.
 12. A local pump unit for controlling ahydraulic actuator, said local pump unit comprising: a first pluralityof hydraulic ports; an electric motor; a one-way hydraulic pump coupledto said first plurality of hydraulic ports and powered by said electricmotor to provide a high pressure fluid output; a pressure sensor meansfor outputting a signal indicative of a low pressure when a pressure ofa central hydraulic pressure assembly is below a selected value; and ameans for selectively connecting a high pressure fluid output from saidone way hydraulic pump to a hydraulic actuator.
 13. The local pump unitof claim 12 further comprising: a second plurality of hydraulic portsconfigured to connect said local pump unit to a central hydraulicpressure supply; and a check valve positioned between the high pressureoutput of the local pump and the central hydraulic pressure supply. 14.The local pump unit of claim 12 wherein the pressure sensor meansincludes a local sensing means for detecting an actual local pressure ofthe central hydraulic pressure assembly adjacent to the hydraulicactuator and outputting a signal indicative of a value of the actuallocal pressure.
 15. The local pump unit of claim 12 wherein the pressuresensor means includes a central sensing means for detecting an actualcentral pressure of the central hydraulic pressure assembly at a centrallocation in the aircraft and outputting a signal indicative of a valueof the actual central pressure.
 16. The local pump unit of claim 12wherein the pressure sensor means outputs the signal indicative of a lowpressure when the pressure of the central hydraulic pressure assemblyadjacent to the hydraulic actuator is below a selected value.
 17. Thelocal pump unit of claim 12 further including: an electronic controlunit adjacent to the local pump and connected to receive the output ofthe pressure sensor means.
 18. A method for operating a hydraulicactuator that receives hydraulic pressure from a first source, themethod comprising: sensing with a sensor a condition that calls foranother source of fluid pressure to be provided to the hydraulicactuator that receives hydraulic pressure from the first source;outputting a signal from the sensor in response to the sensor havingsensed the condition that calls for another source of fluid pressure;activating a local pump adjacent to said hydraulic actuator in responseto the signal from the sensor, the local pump being coupled upstream ofa servo value, on a central high pressure hydraulic line; providingincreased pressure from the local pump to the high pressure lineadjacent to the local hydraulic actuator; moving the servo valve in afirst direction to provide high pressure fluid from the local pump to afirst side of the hydraulic actuator; and moving the servo valve in asecond direction to provide high pressure fluid from the local pump to asecond side of the hydraulic actuator.
 19. The method for operating thehydraulic actuator of claim 18, wherein sensing with a sensor acondition comprises: sensing that the hydraulic actuator is not movingcorrectly.
 20. The method for operating the hydraulic actuator of claim18, wherein sensing a condition comprises: sensing a decrease inpressure in the first source adjacent to the local hydraulic actuator.